“That it does,” agreed Elizabeth, still feeling a hint of uncertainty in her heart. “I know you will execute your duties sufficient to make your ancestors proud of you.”
“Well, perhaps not proud.” William winked. “Shall we instead settle on satisfied? I doubt I will ever have as much taste for society as my more illustrious cousins possessed.”
After a momentary pause, William shook his head and offered a rueful smile. “Then again, as I recall, Jameson Darcy never had much affinity for society either. Those few times I encountered him in London, I rarely recall him at ease, and the rumors suggest he was not a warm man, one rather austere and unapproachable.”
“It must be a family trait,” replied Elizabeth, laughing, “for much the same is said of you.”
“Only by those with whom I do not wish to associate.” William looked around the room, and with an exaggerated attempt at secrecy, he leaned in close and said: “Such as Bingley’s sister.”
Straightening, he grinned and added: “With those I can tolerate, I dare say that I am the very soul of congeniality.”
“Perhaps not theverysoul,” replied Elizabeth. “I will own that your amiable nature is enough forme, but I inhabit a sphere close enough to know you better than most. For others who are not so close, I cannot speak.”
“What is it, Elizabeth?” asked William, peering at her. “Is something amiss?”
Elizabeth sighed and smiled at how well he knew her. Gathering her thoughts, she faced with courage the doubts that had plagued her since she had learned of William’s new inheritance.
“This business of the first circles concerns me, William. I have always been more than content with your position in society, and I know you never wished for anything more. Now that you are to rise—precipitously, I might add—I wonder how we shall manage.”
William fixed her with a grin of delight, not at all in keeping with her confession. “Well, this is a fine to do, Elizabeth. I never thought I would see the day whenyouwould confess to such uncertainty. When I inform Mother, she will be most amused.”
“William!” said Elizabeth, swatting at his hand. “I am serious. And you should know me better than to suppose I will wilt before the high and mighty of society.”
“Yes, I know it very well,” replied William. “I believe, my dear, that we shall face all naysayers together. You should remember thatIwill join a set with which I have little experience, the same as you will; thus, we will face the same trials together.
“Some might say that I should look in the circles I am to inhabit for a future wife to assist me to become accustomed to it, among other reasons for which I have no interest. If anyone makes such a ridiculous suggestion to me, I will ensure they understand my sentiments. I have never wished for anyone other than you for a wife. Together, we will do well, despite what others may think.”
Elizabeth sighed and leaned closer to him, a little closer than was proper, she thought. Propriety, however, was not high on her list of concerns at that moment—she wished for the comfort of the man who had been her love since the moment she knew she wished for love in a marriage. The family knew them well,knew their affection, and would say nothing of a minor breach of propriety.
“We shall,” said Elizabeth, reveling in their closeness. “I hope you will forgive me if I wish you a speedy return. This delay will seem like an eternity.”
“As it will to me. Do not forget that I mean you to join me at Pemberley, at least for a few days.”
Elizabeth straightened and nodded. “I will be happy to join you there, William.”
That settled, they enjoyed each other’s company until they must part, which William did with the greatest reluctance. Elizabeth had not been speaking in hyperbole—she expected the days and weeks of their separation would pass with agonizing sluggishness. Her happiness waited at the end, so she was prepared to endure it.
Chapter V
Travel had never been an easy undertaking, and that journey to Pemberley brought the maxim to deeper understanding in Darcy’s mind. Netherfield was no more than a four-hour journey north of London; even if he did not enjoy it, the comforts provided by an excellent carriage, not making up for the limited confines in which a man long of leg could not stretch to his full height, at least the distance did not render it interminable. That long journey told Darcy that the short distance to the home he had known all his life did not even begin to prepare him for what he would endure every time he traveled from London to the seat of Darcy wealth in the north, which consumed three full days. It was not the first time he had traveled such a distance, for he had visited the north more than once in Bingley’s company, and had toured many locations during his youth, a replacement of sorts for the inability to travel the continent on a grand tour, as his father had when he had been a young man. The prospect of his future need to travel these roads at least twice a year rendered the reality more pressing than he had ever thought possible.
Now that those three days were almost complete, Darcy regarded the massive edifice of the home he could now call his own, knowing that if anything, his father had understated the grandeur of the place. Simply put, Pemberley was majestic, a massive monument to the history of the Darcy family. Netherfield, fine estate though it was, could not even begin to compare with what he saw before him. The house was sucha structure as to dwarf Netherfield, a testament to the Darcy family’s longevity and the wealth they had accumulated. After all, Netherfield produced an income of about five thousand a year, whereas Pemberley’s was perhaps twice that much, according to rumor. Yet if the house itself were even an inch less than four times as large as Netherfield, Darcy would eat his hat.
The order of the estate as he passed through the lodge at its gate and made his way through the fields and woods also impressed Darcy. After traveling for as much as ten minutes through those woods, Darcy wondered if he would even reach the house before darkness fell over the land. It was January, and there was nothing to see in the fields, but they all appeared well-maintained and ready for planting when the spring grew warm enough to allow it. In every line, every bush, every tree, and every block of pale gray stone that comprised the house’s walls, Darcy knew he had entered a far different world from that to which he was accustomed.
As the carriage continued to roll along toward the house, Darcy considered the last three days of journeying, the inns at which he had stopped for the night, and the roads he had traveled. The countryside, as he had known it would, had gradually grown rougher than the gentle lands to the south, the soil a little less fertile, the fields more likely to contain rocks rather than rich loam suitable for growing crops. While such thoughts teased at the edges of his consciousness, Darcy’s recollections returned to the leave-taking from his home two days before. Leaving Elizabeth had been hard, but he had also not wished to give up his mother’s or his close friend’s company so soon, though he had known it was necessary. To hold to a little of the normalcy of his comfortable life, he had even tried to convince Bingley to accompany him to Pemberley.
“You have my apologies, Bingley, for the necessity of leaving. I had hoped to keep your company until my wedding to Elizabeth.”
Bingley, good fellow that he was, had seen the humor in that comment at once. “Then you would have given up my company for that of your enchanting new wife!”
“For that, I offer no apology. I am besotted, and I do not hesitate to own it. Who would not be besotted with such a woman as she?”
“Who, indeed?” Bingley shook his head and allowed a rueful smile. “Itisunfortunate, my friend, for I could not but anticipate deepening my acquaintance with your wife’s beguiling sister. Now, however, I must wait until you return to renew my connection with her.”
“I will be certain to invite you to return the moment I make my way back to Hertfordshire. Or perhaps we may meet in London for the season, my first as a married man.”
Bingley grinned and slapped Darcy’s back. “That sounds like an excellent plan, Darcy. I shall wait to hear from you.”
